Predicting the Service Life of Composites
A new technology created by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDC) facilitates the conversion of test data relating to strain, moisture and temperature of FRP composites into an “estimation of the service life” of the material, based on humidity, temperature and stress.
“Ultimately we hope this will predict the service life of composites used in particular environments,” says American Composites Manufacturers Association’s (ACMA) Director of Composites Growth Initiative (CGI) John Busel. ACMA is under contract with the The Pertan Group, a government contractor representing the ERDC, to develop a detailed technology insertion and marketing plan based on a modeling tool for composites’ service life prediction.
“It will help our industry because we will be able to predict how long composites will last when they’re installed in the desert or in Alaska,” says Busel. “We are always asked ‘How long is this product good for?’ instead of saying, ‘This has been here for 50 years and going strong,’ we’ll have hard facts on our side.”
ACMA plans to solicit its division, alliance and council members and academics to help evaluate the modeling tool through a free webinar. The evaluations will help form the basis of the marketing plan.
To sign up for the webinar or for more information about the project, contact John Busel, ACMA’s director of CGI.
